The Deputy is speaking from the Opposition. He knows how this works.

The Deputy can make his remarks but he does not have to-----

The Deputy knows-----

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes the vote of the European Union (EU) member states on 9th January, which accepted by a qualified majority the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement; and recognises that: — every effort was undertaken by the Government to work with like-minded EU member states who shared concerns with the Mercosur agreement to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the Mercosur Trade Agreement; and — Government Ministe…

I extend my gratitude to the Senator for raising these pertinent issues and, in particular, bringing light to the cases of James, Méabh and their families. As the Senator will know, the relevant Ministers are currently in the Dáil answering oral parliamentary questions, which is why I am here. The Government fully recognises the importance of early intervention for children with disabilities in Ireland, including those living in Cavan. In early 2023, the specialist disability function transferred from the Departmen…

It is important to recognise that, while those two specific cases were very clearly brought to this Chamber, I know they are representative of a much wider cohort, not just in Cavan, but around the country. The Senator is right to ask what the workforce plan is and what the solution is to make sure that those children do not just get assessed in time but get that one-on-one contact with the therapists they need. Budget 2026 has provided €20 million for the delivery of some 6,000 clinical assessments to the targeted…

I am grateful to Senator Costello for raising this important issue and offering me an opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister, who, as per Senator Tully, finds herself in the Dáil answering oral questions. As a heads-up to Senator Scahill, the next Minister due in will also be in the Dáil in about ten minutes' time. I am sorry to say I have been entrusted with responding on behalf of both of them. Day services, as the Senator laid out, are part of a suite of support services that enable people with special…

I thank the Senator again for raising this issue and for her clear questions. Before I get into the detail, and thankfully I have some of those numbers to hand, I will state that the ambition of this Government is to bring about a real step change in services for people with a disability in Ireland. It is committed to the expansion and reform of the disability service in order to maximise people's independence and help to support them. This is reflected in the significant investment made in specialist disability se…

I extend my gratitude and many seasonal happy returns for Christmas to Senator Scahill, his family and everyone in the Chamber this morning, in particular the amazing officials in the Houses of the Oireachtas who, when we think it is great to have an amazing late night emergency debate, are the ones who ultimately have to respond very quickly. Every five years, CRU approves the spending plans of EirGrid and ESB Networks, which are the companies charged with designing, operating, building and maintaining the electri…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. There were outages in my constituency on Tuesday night, which affected residents in Kilternan, Stepaside and Carrickmines. People wondered what would happen afterwards and what recourse they had, in particular in respect of standing charges which are under price review 6. A lot needs to happen to our infrastructure in this country, in particular energy infrastructure. The Senator is correct. The review on tree lines and everything else is key. I have no doubt that, in the…

We have plenty of TDs.

I am grateful for the opportunity to close this debate. I thank Deputies for their contributions and consideration of the Arbitration (Amendment) Bill. I look forward to the opportunity to respond in this period to some of the issues raised. Crucially, I remind Deputies of the ultimate reason the Government is introducing this legislation, that is, to put Ireland, as a country that so greatly benefits from international trade, in a position where it is able to fully ratify the EU trade and investment agreements tha…

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to interject in the debate at this stage. I am extremely grateful to the proposer and seconder for tabling this timely debate. I responded to a similar debate in Dáil Éireann a fortnight ago. Commitment to the unification of the island of Ireland is a founding principle for all parties of this Government. This Government holds that aspiration to a united Ireland in common with the Opposition. That is why we are not today opposing this motion, notwithstanding some of the politica…

The Government and, I trust, every Member of this House are committed to supporting inclusive dialogue with all communities and traditions alike. I want to address one point Senator Nicole Ryan raised in relation to pregnancy loss. This is something that touches every household and family and does not recognise any border. The points the Senator made were very well put. It is a little bit far from my remit but I am more than happy to bring it up with the relevant Minister and I hope we can get a resolution on that …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Deputies Duncan Smith and Heneghan have asked similar questions and we will have a longer debate on it this afternoon. The conflict in Sudan has resulted in the world’s most severe humanitarian and protection crisis, with more than 150,000 deaths, over 2 million forcibly displaced and more than 21 million people facing crisis levels of hunger. Following the appalling recent attacks against civilians by the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, in El-Fasher, violence continues to esc…

On discussions, as I mentioned, the Government has raised this at EU and UN levels, where appropriate. I have also personally discussed it at a political level with senior officials and ministers from the UAE. That happened at a meeting in Dublin a number of months ago, meetings held in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and at High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly, and I will be meeting the UAE ambassador in a few hours. We have made it clear to all parties that we do not believe there should be any breaches of the arms emb…

Let there be no underestimation. This is the worst humanitarian crisis happening in the world at the moment and it has been for a considerable time. It is the largest displacement of people, and Ireland will not be found wanting. As I mentioned, so far this year, we have allocated €4.3 million in humanitarian assistance. That included an additional €3 million announced by me and the Tánaiste in September at the UN and we are committed to increasing that in 2026 as needed. We also made sure our payments to UN agency…

I thank the Deputy for his timely question. Ireland's diplomatic priorities are set out in the Department of Foreign Affair and Trade's statement of strategy for 2025 to 2028, which includes active diplomatic engagement in promoting peace, security and the protection of human rights abroad. We pursue these objectives against the backdrop of a changing geopolitical landscape and a wide range of challenges that require global solutions. In this context, the Government prioritises reinforcing the multilateral system a…

There are a couple of elements to that. The negotiations under way in Geneva between the US and Ukraine are welcome, but Ireland is not a direct party to them. One issue that came up at the Foreign Affairs Council, which I attended virtually yesterday, was the need for there to be an EU track to the negotiations. While there are three European countries around the negotiations, we want to make sure there is a real EU voice. Within that EU voice will be Ireland's voice. Ireland is clear that we want a just and lasti…

Yes, absolutely. When there is a ceasefire and a peace agreement in Ukraine, Ireland is fully prepared to play a real part in that. Just two weeks ago, I was in Colombia, one of 13 Irish Aid countries, and our programme work there is solely in relation to peace. The experience of Ireland has been put into action to uphold the 2016 peace agreement. I visited projects with decommissioned FARC guerillas who were being supported by the Irish Government to turn their backs on violence, engage on peace and lead far bette…